The Cherry Blossoms (14 page)

A pair of border collies ran up the walk to greet her.  As she bent over to pet them, Daniella heard someone yell, “Hey, don’t pet those dogs.”  Fearing that they might be biters, she pulled her hands back.  She looked around to find the person who told her not to pet the dogs and found none other than her grandfather’s foreman, Garrett Ryan.  “Do they bite?”

He walked toward her, “They do not bite, but they are working dogs, not pets.”

Daniella put her hands on her hips and sarcastically asked, “You’re telling me that I can’t pet them because their working dogs?”

He walked to stand in front of her.  Daniella was tall for a woman, but this guy towered over her.  She looked up to see his face.  “Who are you to tell me that I can’t pet the dogs?”

He put his hands on his hips, “I’m the ranch foreman and what I say goes.”

Daniella put her hands on her own hips, and cackled, “Is that right, Mister Foreman?”

“That is absolutely right.”

“I’ll pet those dogs if I want to.”

“Little Lady, if you do that, they’ll become pets and get fat and lazy.”

“Is that right?”  Daniella had no intention of standing down to this ranch hand.  “Well Mister Foreman, just watch this.”  She called the dogs to her and scratched them each behind the ear.  “You can put that working dog bullshit in your pipe and smoke it.  Nana sent me down to learn about my grandfather’s business enterprise, so I would appreciate you showing it to me.”

“Is that right?  Then follow me.”

Garrett had long strides, so she had to run to keep up with him.  She was out of breath by the time she reached the horse barn.  He introduced her to the ranch hands, who were laughing at her.  She looked at Garrett, “What in the fuck did you tell them about me?”

“I didn’t tell them anything; but, I think Matt’s granddaughter should mind her language.”

She turned away from her grandfather’s foreman and looked to the ranch hands who were mucking out the stalls, “My name is Daniella McPherson, and I want to know what you found so funny when I walked in.”

Her grandfather’s ranch hands stared at their feet and didn’t say a word.  Garrett told them from behind her, “Go ahead and tell Ms. Daniella McPherson what you found funny.”

One man stepped forward, “Ms. McPherson, my name is Joe.  We were laughing ‘
cause you’re standing in a pile of horse manure in your girly sandals.”

When she looked down at her feet, she saw that her sandals were ruined.  She’d paid over three hundred dollars for those sandals.  She was livid that they would go out in this evening’s trash.  “There
isn’t one damn thing funny about a woman ruining her shoes in a pile of horse shit.”  Daniella turned and walked out of the horse stalls.  She heard them laugh again as she left.     Garrett followed her.

“Danny, you really have to admit that while those shoes might be appropriate in Paris, they are most inappropriate in a horse barn.”

Without turning to face him, she told him over her shoulder, “My name is Daniella not Danny.  I don’t need you to tell me how to dress or for that matter, how to talk.”

Garrett shook his head and turned to walk back to the barn.  When he reached the barn door, he chortled as he told the guys, “I think Ms. McPherson is a bit testy, so try your best not to laugh at her.  She’s only gonna be here for a few days, so I’m gonna ask you to mind your manners until she’s gone back to Paris.

Nana was standing on the porch waiting for her.  “Danny, what’s that all over your shoes?”

Without batting an eye, she strode past Nana, on her way to the mud room.  “It’s horse shit.”

Nana walked through the house and met Daniella in the mud room, “Child, don’t you have better sense than to walk into the barn in those sandals?  I know I raised you to know better.”

Ignoring what Nana had just told her, she asked, “Is my grandfather awake?”

Nana wasn’t through scolding Danny.  “You have ruined two pairs of shoes in two days.”

Daniella’s Irish temper kicked in.  “It is not my fault; it’s that freaking Garrett’s fault.  He let me fall into the mud last night and this morning, he let me walk into a pile of horse shit.  He’s the one who ruined two expensive pairs of shoes, not me.”

“I’m quite sure young lady, that Garrett did not tell you to wear sandals into the barn.  Your grandfather’s awake.  I was just about to take him his breakfast.  Go to your room and put on an appropriate pair of shoes.  Then meet me in the kitchen and I’ll have you take him his breakfast.”

Daniella returned to the kitchen wearing a pair of sneakers.  She had dug around in her closet and found her boots, which she would wear if she ever went into the barn again.

“Nana, will these sneakers do?”  Nana smiled, “Yes they will for around the house.  Did you find your boots?”

“Yes ma’am, I did.  They were in the back of my closet, but I don’t think I’ll ever go back in the barn.”

Nana looked astonished, “Of course you will.  Danny, you are about to become a ranch owner.  Child, your grandfather let you run wild, but the days are passing much too quickly to when you need to settle down here on the ranch.”

Daniella took two steps backward.  She hadn’t moved to France to return home as a ranch owner.  “Don’t be standing there looking like you’re hearing this for the first time.”  Nana handed her a tray that contained her grandfather’s breakfast.   “Take this tray up to your grandfather’s room.  I’m sure he’ll be happy to see you bring in his breakfast.”

“Nana, I never thought I would have to take over the ranch.”

“Humph, is that right?  You never thought you would run the ranch?  Danny, you will be the sixth generation in the McPherson family to run this ranch.  Your grandfather’s breakfast is getting cold.”

Daniella took the tray of food up the staircase to her grandfather’s bedroom.  Nana had already opened the curtains, so his room was bright and sunny.  Matt McPherson was dressed and sitting at a small table.  He looked up to find Danny.  “Child, put that tray down and come give this old man a hug and kiss hello.”

She set the tray on his table and after giving him a bear hug, she sat across the table from him as he ate his breakfast.  She wasn’t sure what she had expected him to look like, but this ninety-one year old grandfather looked great to her.  “Grandpa, you look great.  What’s all this hoopla I’ve been hearing saying that you’re sick?”

He chuckled, “You know Nana.  She believes what the doctors tell her, but it sure is good to have you home.  Tell me all about living in Paris.  Did you enjoy it?”

Daniella immediately noticed the ‘did you enjoy it?’  “I love living in Paris.  For me there is no other place in the world to live.”

Her grandfather set his fork down and reached across the table to take her hand.  “I am glad that you had the opportunity to see another part of the world and enjoyed it.”

“If you hadn’t been so generous, I would never have had that opportunity.”

When he looked at her, Daniella saw that his brilliantly blue eyes had turned to a dull gray with age.  “Danny, Betty’s right about what the doctors told her.  It’s likely that my old ticker’s gonna stop ticking sooner than I want.”

Her eyes welled with tears while she brightly told him, “Come on Grandpa, I think those doctors have read the wrong medical chart.”

“No child, they have not.  We need to talk about you coming home to stay since you will inherit the ranch.”

Daniella was not about to believe that her grandfather was dying.  He was the only family she had left.  “Grandpa, you’re just talking silly.  My word, look at you.  You look as healthy and virile as the day I left for France.”

“Ah, if only that were true my love.  Danny, I’m dying, so it will soon be time for you to take over the ranch.  We’ve got a good group of men working it, so I’m leaving you in good hands.”

The thoughts that ran through her head were confused and chaotic.  When she’d left for Paris, she never dreamed that she would be called home to run the ranch.  “Grandpa, can’t you put the ranch into one of those trust funds?”

While Matthew J. McPherson was close to death, what he told her next was in a strong confident voice.  “Yes, I suppose I could put your land in a trust; however I’m not going to.  It is your duty as a McPherson to take responsibility for the ranch.”

She needed to sound reasonable when she spoke.  “I understand what you’re telling me, but my life is now in Paris.  I have a staff to support with people who depend on me, to bring in the money for their paychecks.  I can’t just leave them hanging in the wind like clean laundry drying on a clothes line.”

Matt McPherson sat back in his chair and pondered what she’d just told him.  He knew little to nothing about the fashion industry; but, he clearly saw that his only kin wanted nothing to do with the ranch.  He folded his old snarled hands in his lap.  Daniella watched his face for any sign that he would reconsider putting the ranch into a trust, so she could return to Paris.

She pleaded with him, “Maybe I can run the ranch from Paris.  I met Garrett and he seems to know a lot about how to run a ranch.”

“No, you cannot run a horse ranch from the other side of the globe.  I let you go to school there, I paid for your schooling in Paris.”  He chuckled, “Can you run your business from here?”

“Colorado is definitely not the center of a fashion industry.”

“If you can’t move your business to the ranch, you’ll have to give up the fashion industry.  I can’t waver on this.  Like you, I have employees who need to earn a living to feed their families.  Like you, I have a responsibility to them.  Child, please do not let me down.”

After all her grandfather had done for her, she admonished herself for being selfish.  He not only raised her; he paid for her schooling in Paris and financially supported her until she earned enough to pay her bills.  She absolutely could not let him down. 

“I promise that I’ll not let you down.  I’ll fly back to Paris and close the shop.  I’ll need a little time to find jobs for everyone, but I’ll come back to run the ranch.”

“I knew that I could count on you to do the right thing.” 

She smiled at him, “You knew I would say yes, didn’t you?”

He started to chuckle, but the chuckle turned into a raspy cough.  When he regained his composure, he told her, “No, I wasn’t sure that you would.”

That statement made her feel lower than whale dung on the ocean floor.  It’s no wonder that his ranch hands snickered at her in her Paris clothes feeling high and mighty as if she were the Queen of Sheba.

“Grandpa, I’m not sure how much I know about ranching, but I promise to give it my best effort.”

“You’ll do just fine.  Garrett will teach you everything you need to know.”

Daniella smiled at him, “I’ll bet he will.”

“Danny, tell Betty that I’m ready for my morning exercises.”

Daniella picked up the half eaten tray of food, kissed him on his cheek, as she told him, “I will.”

Nana was already preparing the mid-day meal when Daniella entered the kitchen.  “Nana let me help you.  Grandpa said to tell you that he’s ready for his morning exercise.”

“Okay, snap these beans and cut up the potatoes while I work with Matt.  I’ll be back in ten minutes.”

Daniella snapped the string beans, and rinsed them in cold water.  She was in the process of peeling potatoes when Nana returned to the kitchen.   Nana gave her a worrisome look as she looked to the next generation of the McPherson family who was destined to take over the ranch.  “How did your talk with your grandfather
go?”

“If your real question is if I’m taking over the ranch, the answer is yes.  I just promised him that I would.”

Nana’s satisfied look said it all.  Deep inside Daniella’s heart, she hoped she could live up to that satisfied look.

The ranch hands sauntered into the kitchen discussing mundane topics such as, which horse feed is the best, which horse brush provided the silkiest glean to the coat, and heaven forbid, horse shoes.  Daniella listened as she helped Nana serve the crew.  She told herself that if she were in Paris, it would be the same conversation; only in Paris, it would focus on clothing designs; which was the best cloth and shoes to match the design.  Her heart was heavy as she listened to the conversations around the table, wondering about the team she left behind in Paris.

When the ranch hands gathered up their dishes for the dishwasher, Daniella asked if Garrett could speak with her privately.  She closed the door behind her when they entered her grandfather’s office.  She then suggested that they each take a seat.

Daniella smiled at him.  As a small child she loved her grandfather’s office.  She did her homework on the corner of his massive oak desk while he conducted his own business.  She pretended that she was working alongside him rather than doing homework.  She’d heard somewhere that he’d given up his cigars years earlier, but the scent of them was meshed into the wood panels that covered the wall.

“I spoke with my grandfather this morning.  He was adamant that I return to the States to take over the ranch.  He also told me that you have taken charge of the day-to-day operations and that you would tutor me.”